Your Right to Know

An environmental group says a friendship between an Ohio official and a developer might have “
improperly influenced” a proposed land swap that would put a Columbus wildlife area in the
developer’s hands.

The Ohio Department of Natural Resources hopes to trade the 17.85-acre Sawmill State Wildlife
Education Area near Sawmill Road for a 43-acre property along a scenic stretch of the Olentangy
River just south of the Delaware County line.

The Ohio Sierra Club, which opposes the swap, wants the Ohio inspector general’s office to
investigate whether the deal was forged through a personal relationship between developer James D.
Schrim and Scott Zody, an assistant director at the state agency.

Jed Thorp, the club’s chapter manager, said emails that agency officials sent one another about
the deal suggest the friendship. In two emails, Jennifer Windus, a wildlife administrator, refers
to Schrim as Zody’s friend.

“There are enough questions raised in these emails that it warrants the inspector general’s
taking a closer look,” Thorp said.

Carl Enslen, deputy inspector general, said the office does not discuss complaints or comment on
investigations until they are completed. The Sierra Club copied
TheDispatch on a complaint it emailed to the inspector general yesterday.

Schrim could not be reached for comment yesterday. Natural Resources officials sent a written
statement that said they had not seen the complaint.

“We have no reason to believe that Scott Zody was anything but ethical throughout discussions
regarding the Sawmill Wetlands,” the agency wrote.

Natural Resources got the Sawmill land in the 1990s as part of a wetlands-conservation deal that
the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency had reached with developers building a nearby shopping
center. Thorp and other environmental advocates argue that the property, which contains two
wetlands, was supposed to remain a protected wildlife area forever.

Natural Resources officials say the land along the Olentangy River is more ecologically valuable
because it fronts a state scenic river and would be more accessible to the public.

The Sawmill wetlands area supports a breeding colony of smallmouth salamanders. It’s one of 14
wetlands within I-270 capable of supporting amphibian wildlife, according to a 2008 Ohio EPA
report.

Windus was one of several officials corresponding about the wildlife area and the proposed deal.
Her emails and other documents were obtained via public-records requests.

On Dec. 16, Windus wrote, “Zody has already asked us about some land trade of this property with
a developer friend of his, so I am not sure what’s going on.”

On Jan. 30, she wrote, “Be aware that Zody is also working on a deal with a friend who is a
developer for a land trade, so keep him in the loop before you commit to anything.”

Natural Resources spokeswoman Bethany McCorkle said the agency hasn’t closed on the land
swap.